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Genetic and structural analysis of a virulence determinant in polyomavirus VP1.

ABSTRACT: The LID strain of polyomavirus differs from other laboratory strains in causing a rapidly lethal infection of newborn C3H/Bi mice. This virulent behavior of LID was attenuated by dilution, yet at sublethal doses LID was able to induce tumors at a high frequency, like its parent virus PTA. By constructing and assaying LID-PTA recombinant viruses and by DNA sequencing, the determinant of virulence in LID was mapped to the major viral capsid protein, VP1. The VP1s of LID and PTA differed at two positions: at 185, LID has phenylalanine and PTA has tyrosine, and at 296, LID has alanine and PTA has valine. Results obtained with viruses constructed by site-directed mutagenesis showed that alanine at position 296 is sufficient to confer a fully virulent phenotype regardless of which amino acid is at position 185. However, with valine at position 296, an effect of phenylalanine at position 185 is apparent, as this virus possesses an intermediate level of virulence. A crystal structure of polyomavirus complexed with 3'-sialyl lactose previously indicated van der Waals contacts between the side chain of valine 296 and the sialic acid ring (T. Stehle, Y. Yan, T. L. Benjamin, and S. C. Harrison, Nature [London] 369:160-163, 1994). When this interaction was modeled with alanine, these contacts were greatly reduced. Direct confirmation that the substitutions in VP1 affected receptor binding was obtained by studying virus hemagglutination behavior. The ensemble of results are discussed in terms of the idea that a lower affinity of the virus for its receptor can result in more rapid spread and increased pathogenicity.

SUBMITTER: Bauer PH

PROVIDER: S-EPMC189737 | biostudies-other | 1995 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Genetic and structural analysis of a virulence determinant in polyomavirus VP1.

Bauer P H PH Bronson R T RT Fung S C SC Freund R R Stehle T T Harrison S C SC Benjamin T L TL

Journal of virology 19951201 12

The LID strain of polyomavirus differs from other laboratory strains in causing a rapidly lethal infection of newborn C3H/Bi mice. This virulent behavior of LID was attenuated by dilution, yet at sublethal doses LID was able to induce tumors at a high frequency, like its parent virus PTA. By constructing and assaying LID-PTA recombinant viruses and by DNA sequencing, the determinant of virulence in LID was mapped to the major viral capsid protein, VP1. The VP1s of LID and PTA differed at two pos ...[more]

PMID: 7494305

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Project description:The oncogenic potential of human polyomavirus JC (JCV), a ubiquitous virus that establishes infection during early childhood in approximately 70% of the human population, is unclear. As a neurotropic virus, JCV has been implicated in pediatric central nervous system tumors and has been suggested to be a pathogenic agent in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Recent studies have demonstrated JCV gene sequences in pediatric medulloblastomas and among patients with colorectal cancer. JCV early protein T-antigen (TAg) can form complexes with cellular regulatory proteins and thus may play a role in tumorigenesis. Since JCV is detected in B-lymphocytes, a retrospective analysis of pediatric B-cell and non-B-cell malignancies as well as other HIV-associated pediatric malignancies was conducted for the presence of JCV gene sequences. DNA was extracted from 49 pediatric malignancies, including Hodgkin disease, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, large cell lymphoma and sarcoma. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was conducted using JCV specific nested primer sets for the transcriptional control region (TCR), TAg, and viral capsid protein 1 (VP1) genes. Southern blot analysis and DNA sequencing were used to confirm specificity of the amplicons. A 215-bp region of the JCV VP1 gene was amplified from 26 (53%) pediatric tumor tissues. The JCV TCR and two JCV gene regions were amplified from a leiomyosarcoma specimen from an HIV-infected patient. The leiomyosarcoma specimen from the cecum harbored the archetype strain of JCV. Including the leiomyosarcoma specimen, three of five specimens sequenced were typed as JCV genotype 2. The failure to amplify JCV TCR, and TAg gene sequences in the presence of JCV VP1 gene sequence is surprising. Even though JCV TAg gene, which is similar to the SV40 TAg gene, is oncogenic in animal models, the presence of JCV gene sequences in pediatric malignancies does not prove causality. In light of the available data on the presence of JCV in normal and cancerous colon epithelial tissue and our data on amplification of JCV from the cecum of an HIV-infected pediatric patient, further studies are warranted on the role of colon epithelium in the pathogenesis of JCV infection.

Project description:Human polyomavirus 9 (HPyV9) is a closely related homologue of simian B-lymphotropic polyomavirus (LPyV). In order to define the architecture and receptor binding properties of HPyV9, we solved high-resolution crystal structures of its major capsid protein, VP1, in complex with three putative oligosaccharide receptors identified by glycan microarray screening. Comparison of the properties of HPyV9 VP1 with the known structure and glycan-binding properties of LPyV VP1 revealed that both viruses engage short sialylated oligosaccharides, but small yet important differences in specificity were detected. Surprisingly, HPyV9 VP1 preferentially binds sialyllactosamine compounds terminating in 5-N-glycolyl neuraminic acid (Neu5Gc) over those terminating in 5-N-acetyl neuraminic acid (Neu5Ac), whereas LPyV does not exhibit such a preference. The structural analysis demonstrated that HPyV9 makes specific contacts, via hydrogen bonds, with the extra hydroxyl group present in Neu5Gc. An equivalent hydrogen bond cannot be formed by LPyV VP1.The most common sialic acid in humans is 5-N-acetyl neuraminic acid (Neu5Ac), but various modifications give rise to more than 50 different sialic acid variants that decorate the cell surface. Unlike most mammals, humans cannot synthesize the sialic acid variant 5-N-glycolyl neuraminic acid (Neu5Gc) due to a gene defect. Humans can, however, still acquire this compound from dietary sources. The role of Neu5Gc in receptor engagement and in defining viral tropism is only beginning to emerge, and structural analyses defining the differences in specificity for Neu5Ac and Neu5Gc are still rare. Using glycan microarray screening and high-resolution protein crystallography, we have examined the receptor specificity of a recently discovered human polyomavirus, HPyV9, and compared it to that of the closely related simian polyomavirus LPyV. Our study highlights critical differences in the specificities of both viruses, contributing to an enhanced understanding of the principles that underlie pathogen selectivity for modified sialic acids.

Dataset Information

Genetic and structural analysis of a virulence determinant in polyomavirus VP1.

Publications

Genetic and structural analysis of a virulence determinant in polyomavirus VP1.

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